CNN
–

Israel targeted Hamas leader Mohamed Singhwar on a strike at a hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday evening, according to two sources familiar with the issue, according to senior Israeli officials and two sources.

He became the de facto leader of extremist groups after Israeli forces killed his brother Yahya Sinwar last October.

The strike on Tuesday killed six Palestinians and injured at least 40 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said it had struck at Khan Eunice’s European hospital to target “Hamasterolists from Command and Control Centres” in the underground infrastructure under the hospital. The IDF did not identify a strike target.

According to nurse Dr. Saleh Al Hams, multiple airstrikes have been struck in the hospital’s yards. Some people are buried under the tiled rub, he said, calling it a “catastrophe.” The medical team tried to move patients to a safe unit within the hospital.

Videos from the scene showed towering pillars of smoke and dust from what appears to be some of Gaza’s biggest strikes in recent weeks.

Hamas rejected Israeli claims about Singwar, saying in a statement, “Palestinian resistance is the only authority that has been empowered to confirm or deny what is publicly available through official platforms.”

On Tuesday night, the IDF said it had intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza. The third rocket has landed in the open area. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad military wing has argued responsibility for the attack, saying it fired fire in an Israeli city near Gaza.

After some time, Israel issued evacuation warnings to Jabariya refugee camps and areas near northern Gaza, saying the IDF will “attack and operate anywhere where rockets are fired.”

The targeting of Singwar comes the day after Hamas released Israeli American Edan Alexander with a good-willed gesture to the United States. As Hamas communicated with the Trump administration, the contract to release a single hostage was on the sidelines for Israel.

The United States has expressed optimism about negotiations in Qatar with President Donald Trump and his envoy Steve Witkov in the Middle East. Before leaving Israel, Witkov promised the hostage family that he would “be someone who is less stolen by their pursuit.”

But with negotiations to begin in Doha and Israeli teams along the way – Singwar’s target has just tried to kill Hamas’ key decision makers, which Israel needs to seal off the potential agreement.

Israeli officials thought that Mohammed Singwar was just as hard-lined as his brother Yahya, but he was far more experienced in the military. According to the IDF, he ordered the Khan Eunice Brigade until 2016. Like Yahiya, he is considered to be one of the main plotters for the terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7th.

Since the start of the war he remained hidden along with many of the Hamas senior leaders in Gaza. In December 2023, IDF released a video of what they said. In February 2024, the IDF said they placed his office in West Khan Eunice.

Former US ambassador for Israeli Dan Shapiro said Singar is likely a barrier to negotiations. “There’s very little chance that the war will end before he dies,” Shapiro, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told CNN. “His removal opened the door for the release of all hostages and began moving towards the postwar future of Gaza, without Hamas.”

However, even if Singwar dies, it may take some time before Israel officially states that he has officially killed him. In mid-July, Israel said it targeted Mohammed Deif on a strike in the designated humanitarian belt in southern Gaza. It took me more than two weeks until August, before the IDF actually declared that he had killed DEIF. Hamas did not confirm his death until the end of January, almost six months later.

By October, most of the people at the Israeli military crossing were Yahyasinwar. Yahya, who was sentenced to four life sentences in 1988, said she became fluent in Hebrew and spent many years studying her enemies. He was released in 2011 as part of the contract to release Israeli soldier Girad Sharit. His release stems from the fact that his brother Mohammed was one of Sharit’s temptations and insisted on including Yahiya’s deal.

Back in Gaza, Yahiya quickly passed through the ranks of extremist organizations and eventually became its leader.

From October 7th, Yahya became Israel’s most wanted man, and the IDF searched for him in a small coastal enclave. US officials believed that Israel had approached Yahya several times and washed him out of his underground hiding spot.

However, Yahiya moved undetected in the tunnel beneath Gaza, rarely coming to the ground, avoiding detection by Israeli electronic surveillance. Ultimately, it was a daily Israeli patrol in Gaza, engaged in a shootout in Rafa, southern Gaza, and discovered Yahiya’s body in Rafa.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Dhaka, Bangladesh
AP
–

Bangladesh’s election commission has cancelled the registration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, preventing him from participating in the next general election, which is expected to be held by June next year.

The decision on Monday comes hours after the country’s interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammed Yunus issued an official notice banning the Awami League Party and its affiliates from operating online and elsewhere.

A formal notice from the Home Ministry was issued on Monday two days after the interim cabinet decided that the special court would ban all party activities under the state’s anti-terrorism law until the trial of the party and its leaders.

In the notice, the government said it had banned all activities “including all kinds of publications, media, online and social media” as well as “all kinds of campaigns, processions, meetings, meetings (or) meetings (or) meetings until the trials of leaders and activists are complete.”

He said the decision was soon effective.

Separately, the Election Commission said Monday that it would not allow the Hasina-led party to challenge the next election. Political parties must be registered with the Election Commission to participate in elections.

Government advisers said Monday that anyone who posted comments online in support of the Awami League party will face arrest.

On Sunday, the Awami League accused the interim government of trampling on “democratic norms” by banning the “stalking sector” and its activities. In a statement, the ban said “the vague divisions within society have strangled democratic norms, promoted ongoing pogroms against opponents, and strangled all undemocratic measures.”

The Awami League is one of the two major political parties in Bangladesh, with parliamentary democracy with a violent history of coups and political assassinations.

Hasina, daughter of Bangladeshi’s independent leader Sheikh Mujibour Rahman, fled the country on August 5th last year and has since been exiled in India along with many senior party colleagues and former cabinet rulers and lawmakers. They are accused of killing protesters during the uprising against Hasina’s 15-year regulations from July to August last year.

The UN Human Rights Office said in a February report that up to 1,400 people could have been killed during the three-week anti-hasina protests. However, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ office was recommended in a report that “we will effectively disenfranchise voters in large part, refraining from banning political parties that undermine a genuine multi-party return to democracy.”

The Awami League, which led a nine-month war with Pakistan for independence in 1971, has been under severe pressure since Hasina’s expulsion. Protesters attacked and ran around many offices, including Dhaka’s headquarters. It accuses the interim government of sponsoring mobs to attack the homes and businesses of their activists and leaders. Thousands of supporters have said they have been arrested across the country, and many have been killed.

Yunus said the next election is likely to take place in December or June next year.

Adelaide, Australia
AP
–

Former Olympic cyclist and world champion Rohan Dennis received a suspended sentence Wednesday for what he called a “tragic accident” that led to the death of his wife, Olympian Melissa Hoskins.

Dennis, 34, appeared in South Australia District Court after pleading guilty to committing aggravated conduct that could cause harm.

Dennis was arrested after 32-year-old Hoskins was hit by his car in front of his home in Medindi in northern Adelaide on December 30, 2023. Hoskins was seriously injured in a crash and died at Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The court was said that the couple discussed the kitchen renovation before Dennis left the house. The court also heard that Hoskins jumped into the hood of a car during the incident. His license was also suspended for five years.

Dennis was sentenced to one year, four months and 28 days to be suspended for two years. This sentence fell from two years and two months due to his guilty plea, and he was placed in a two-year, good bond of conduct.

The crime was sentenced to up to seven years in prison, but attorney Jane Abbey asked her client to receive the suspended sentence, which did not oppose the prosecution.

During the April filing volume ruling, Amanda Hoskins said her daughter loved Dennis.

“I think this is a tragic accident. Your temper is your downfall and you need to deal with it,” she said.

Hoskins’ funeral was held in his hometown of Perth, Western Australia, and a public commemoration was held in Adelaide in February 2024. Dennis attended the service with her two children.

Hoskins was on the team that won the 2015 world title, competing on team-track tracks at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Dennis won two world titles in the Roadtime Trial, winning team pursuit at the 2012 Olympics and bronze silver at the Roadtime Trial at the Tokyo Olympics.